Sixers takeaways: VJ Edgecombe steals the show, staggering Embiid and Maxey, and more from OT win vs. Grizzlies

MEMPHIS — Tyrese Maxey lives for matchups against other elite guards. And on Tuesday, he and Memphis Grizzlies two-time All-Star Ja Morant put on a show.

But VJ Edgecombe outshone both with the biggest shot of his young career, a game-winning three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in overtime.

The 76ers might also be on to something when it comes to staggering Maxey and Joel Embiid.

And even though they snapped a three-game skid, Kelly Oubre. Jr‘s return will provide a much-needed lift.

Those things stood out in the Sixers’ 139-136 victory at FedExForum.

Edgecombe has a knack for producing in the clutch. And that’s precisely what the third overall pick did to improve the Sixers to 17-14.

With two defenders on him, Maxey made the right read and passed the ball to Edgecombe. Edgecombe responded by draining a wide-open 25-footer to give the Sixers a 139-136 lead.

Coming out of the timeout with 18.3 seconds left, the play was set up for Maxey to get a layup or for Edgecombe to take the shot.

“My teammates have faith in us to make a play,” Edgecombe said. “And yeah, that’s what happened. They doubled him, and I’m wide-open. I’m shooting it regardless. I don’t care how far out I was, I’m shooting it.”

The 6-foot-5, 195-pound rookie made 5 of 10 three-pointers to finish with 25 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals, and one block. Edgecombe scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter on 5-for-10 shooting -- including making 3 of 4 three-pointers.

His game-winning three was his only basket in overtime.

» READ MORE: VJ Edgecombe hits game-winning three pointer in overtime to give Sixers a 139-136 win over Grizzlies

“The moment’s never too big for me,” Edgecombe said. “It’s never too big. I was ready to be honest. I was ready. I barely played the first half because I’m in foul trouble. I got to stop hacking, but that’s how it goes.

“Like I say, coach trusted me to make plays, and that’s what I did.”

Maxey and Embiid were the team’s co-leading scorers. Maxey finished with 34 points and a game-high 12 assists, while Embiid had 34 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and two blocks.

Maxey faced an All-Star or former All-Star point guard for the third time in the last six games. This time, he dominated play until the fourth quarter.

That’s when the Sixer scored just one point on 0-for-3 shooting, while Morant tallied 18 of his game-high 40 points. Morant also outscored Maxey, 6-2, in overtime.

Maxey started his recent stretch of facing All-Star guards by outplaying New York Knicks two-time All-Star Jalen Brunson in a 116-107 victory at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 19.

Maxey finished with a game-high 30 points while making 6 of 12 three-pointers to go with nine assists. Brunson finished with 22 points on 7-for-22 shooting — including missing 6 of 7 three-pointers — along with six rebounds and nine assists.

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Then on Sunday, he had mixed results against reigning MVP and three-time All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a 129-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Maxey scored 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the first half. However, he ended up with 28 points after being held to five after intermission.

Maxey, the 2024 All-Star, was held scoreless in the third quarter on 0-for-3 shooting. He scored his five fourth-quarter points on 2-for-5 shooting. Maxey also finished the game with four steals and five turnovers. Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting.

Maxey loves to see where he stacks up against other elite point guards. And on Tuesday, he showed the 15,668 in attendance why he’s a favorite to be an All-Star starter.

Embiid was averaging 29 points in his previous four contests entering Tuesday. However, Maxey was out of rhythm, shooting 31.6% in the last two games Embiid played in. At that point, some wondered if Embiid looking for his own shot took away from Maxey’s game.

Against the Grizzlies, the Sixers’ substitution pattern enabled both of them to thrive.

Maxey played the entire first quarter while Embiid was subbed out with 5 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the quarter. Then the 7-2, 280-pounder reentered the game at the start of the second quarter, while Maxey was on the bench.

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The South Garland, Texas native reentered the game at the 6:47 mark of the quarter. The duo spent time on the floor together before Embiid was subbed out with 3:07 remaining in the half. He came back 27 seconds later as the pair closed out the half.

The Sixers staggered the duo similarly for the remainder of the game. And Embiid and Maxey both benefited.

The team also took some of the rebounding and rim-protection duties off Embiid by going to a double-big lineup several times, featuring him and Adem Bona.

“There was a bunch of stuff going on tonight,” coach Nick Nurse said. " I think Bona was the first sub off the bench, and that was more because of the speed they have. They just play fast. They’re just running around 100 miles an hour the whole game. They sub pretty freely. As you saw at the start of the game, it almost shocked us, the speed of what was happening. We couldn’t even get back, get set up, and follow cutters. It was just happening fast. I was trying to stay a little bit speedier with that. I kind of liked Bona’s presence out there, so that was a chance to play him and Joel together a little bit at the four and five, which I really thought really looked good tonight."

Providing the random rim protection, Bona blocked two shots while finishing with four points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

“Back to your question [and Embiid and Maxey], we were working hard at trying to figure out who was in and who was out as far as staggering those guys to keep them going,” Nurse said. “It looked pretty decent tonight. There were a couple of segments when only one was out there, but not very many. Just a short segment of that.”

This marked the 18th game that Oubre missed since spraining the lateral collateral ligament is his left knee against the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 14. Before his injury, the 6-8 small forward was the Sixers’ X Factor.

Before his injury, Oubre’s averages of 16.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals took a back seat to the Sixers’ backcourt pairing of Maxey and Edgecombe in the first 12 games.

But Oubre excelled when the ball was moving, and did a solid job of guarding the opposing team’s best perimeter player.

The Sixers could have used him against the Grizzlies and during the first two stops of their five-game road trip.

They’ll face the Dallas Mavericks on New Year’s Day and conclude the trip against the New York Knicks on Saturday.

Oubre and sidelined reserve power forward Trendon Watford participated in a live three-on-three scrimmage on Monday. It was their on-court scrimmaging since their injuries.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse hopes Oubre returns at some point during the trip.

“I think it’s possible,” he said. “But, again, that was their first kind of live three-on-three yesterday. And you know, see how quick it goes. See how quick we can get them back on the floor, again.”

Oubre participated in an individual on-court workout before Tuesday’s matchup.

“Probably get some more live action tomorrow,” Nurse said,” and then we’ll see where they are at.”

And Nurse is excited to get Oubre back.

“I think Kelly’s playing arguably his best basketball of his career this year,” Nurse said, “so, getting that back, the energy and leadership defensively that he always shows — always plays hard man. I think that’s definitely needed. He’s got a little bit more size, too.”

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Regarding a key role, Nurse said the jury is still out on Watford. The Sixers haven’t seen much of him, as the free-agent acquisition has played in just 14 games. Meanwhile, Paul George will likely slide back to power forward once Oubre returns. In the scenario, Dominick Barlow would be the backup power forward. Reserve forward Jabari Walker has also been solid for the Sixers.

“Where he would slot back in, he’s going to probably have to earn that back in there, not unlike the other guys coming back off injury,” Nurse said of Watford. “I think it’s a bit of a process, usually.

“I think Kelly kind of has a game that just translates. As he’s healthy, he’ll get out there and scrap, play hard, rebound, and defend. Whether he’s scoring or not, that can come a little bit later, if it does or whatever, but it is still a process working.”